Chapter 82, pages 1996-11
"Yongqiang calling home! Yongqiang calling home! Target number one spotted, exact location is our aircraft's coordinates! Heading 270, speed 30 knots!"
"Repeat, target number one spotted! Specific location is our aircraft's coordinates! Heading 270, speed 30 knots!"
"I've decided to deter the target. Repeat, I've decided to deter the target!"
As Li Lu climbed, he continuously called the East China Sea Front Command of the Air Force. By the time he reached an altitude of 1,000 meters, he had made three calls.
At the East China Sea Air Force control tower, Commander Feng Liang and others at the East China Sea Frontline Command Post felt their hearts clench.
"Report the intelligence to the joint command immediately!" Feng Liang instructed, then called Li Lu, "Headquarters received! Yongqiang, listen up! Don't push yourself! Safe return is the top priority!"
no respond.
"Calling Yongqiang from our hometown!"
Still no response.
The radar operator reported over the radio, "Report! Yongqiang signal lost!"
Everyone's hearts sank.
Although everyone knows that Li Lu most likely lowered his altitude again, thus entering the radar's search blind spot.
But what if?
Xu Hailiang immediately suggested, "Deputy Feng, I suggest we activate the contingency plan immediately, request instructions from the Joint Command, and provide support to Li Lu's crew."
Without hesitation, Feng Liang picked up the red telephone, connected to the joint military exercise command, reported the situation, and awaited specific instructions.
If the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group arrives in the North Strait, the large-scale military exercise may be canceled.
This is not an underestimation of ourselves, but rather that all the aircraft and ships of our navy and air force combined cannot defeat the other side!
The joint military exercise command immediately activated its contingency plan—which includes multiple plans to deal with various emergencies.
Putting down the microphone, Feng Liang looked at Xu Hailiang and said, "Activate the third contingency plan!"
"yes!"
The battle alarm suddenly pierced the sky above the entire airfield. Its sharp and piercing sound tore apart the pre-battle tranquility and echoed repeatedly over the empty airfield. Its penetrating power was extremely strong, and each sound carried an imminent sense of urgency.
In the flight duty room, pilots Zhao Chaoyang, Chen Qi, and others were already on high alert, their fingers lightly resting on their equipment, their eyes sharp as eagles, staring intently at the combat chart on the blackboard.
Before the alarm had even faded, they sprang into action like arrows released from a bow. Their hurried footsteps trembled slightly on the ground. Without waiting for the duty officer to repeat the instructions, they rushed out of the flight control room, their figures billowing in the wind as they sprinted toward the fighter jets ready for takeoff on the tarmac. The sound of their flight boots striking the ground was steady and powerful.
On the tarmac, fighter jets are parked in rows, like heavily armored cavalrymen arrayed in strict formation on an ancient battlefield.
Xu Hailiang quickly left the control tower, completed his flight attire, and stepped onto the boarding ladder to sit in the cockpit of the J-7E fighter jet. The canopy slowly closed, isolating him from the outside noise, and the indicator lights on the instrument panel lit up instantly, emitting a faint but firm light.
The engine roared to life, its enormous roar deafening, and its exhaust flames shot out a fiery orange-red light.
With three auxiliary fuel tanks mounted, the J-7E No. 01, like a steel behemoth awakened, slowly glided toward the runway, then suddenly accelerated, its tires screeching as they rubbed against the runway. The fuselage broke free from the ground's restraints and soared toward the sky.
He will serve as the air commander for the entire air operation, working closely with Li Dongying of the 8th Air Regiment to support Li Lu and intercept the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group.
Almost simultaneously, Gu Chen and Qi Hong boarded another JH-7 fighter-bomber. Commands were quickly transmitted in the cockpit, and the two worked in perfect harmony, completing the final pre-flight checks without a word.
As the two Spey turbofan engines roared, the JH-7 slowly taxied out of its parking position, quickly taxied down the runway to the takeoff position, and then accelerated along the runway before taking off.
Gu Chen's crew was to head straight towards the location where Li Lu's fighter jet's radar signal last appeared, at full speed.
The JH-7 he was piloting was carrying two C-101 heavy anti-ship missiles.
The 24 J-8B fighter jets of the 8th Air Regiment are the main force, lined up neatly on the tarmac like steel guardians. Their silver-gray fuselages gleam with a cold metallic gleam in the biting wind, and the missiles mounted under their wings are sharply angled and heavy.
Colonel Li Dongying, the regimental commander, led the team. He was to work closely with Xu Hailiang and, together with twelve J-7E fighters from the 7th Air Regiment, form our air force in the No. 3 airspace to deal with the dozens of advanced third-generation aircraft carried by the USS Kitty Hawk.
"Boom—boom—"
The roar resounded through the sky, forming a deafening roar that shook the ground and caused the fences of the station to tremble slightly.
Similar to the 12 J-7E fighters of the 7th Air Regiment taking off, 24 J-8B fighters took off in pairs in succession.
In the control tower, Feng Liang's command team entered a high-speed dispatching state, directing dozens of fighter jets to take off in the shortest possible time, form up in the air, and head straight for airspace number three.
That's right, the airspace north of the island is codenamed Airspace No. 3 in the operational plan, and it is also the main airspace that the 7th Air Regiment has been honing its skills and guarding for patrols for many years.
At the same time, the two task forces, one in the north and one in the south, received orders to quickly turn around and head at full speed to the No. 3 sea area. All landing formations received emergency orders to suspend their crossings. Landing formations that had already begun their crossings were ordered to turn back.
Naval aviation reported that the USS Nimitz carrier strike group was spotted more than 200 kilometers north of Sea Area No. 3, and their course was also heading towards Sea Area No. 3.
It is obvious that they are going to join the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group to form a dual-carrier strike group. Their strength is not as simple as 1+1=2, but a powerful force that can sweep away all our naval ships and air force aircraft.
In fact, the planned "Joint 1996" large-scale live-fire military exercise could no longer be carried out.
This is a disgrace, but also a powerful driving force for our accelerated development!
The scene shifts back to the core air defense perimeter of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group. Li Lu is unaware that the unit has activated Contingency Plan No. 3, and he has no time to worry about anything else—he once again reduces his altitude and speed, returning to a state of flying close to the sea surface.
This change made the Mavericks realize that he was not facing a pilot who could only fly at extremely low altitudes over the sea and whose mental fortitude was not strong enough, but a peerless master.
The Mavericks descended and accelerated towards Li Lu, attempting to maneuver to push him out of the core air defense zone.
However, he soon realized that falling behind at one step would lead to falling behind at every step.
"Maverick requests permission to fire! Repeat, Maverick requests permission to fire!" The Maverick aircraft pointed its nose at the JH-7 fighter-bomber number 81291 below and requested permission to fire.
He couldn't fly at a height of five meters above the sea, so firing was the only way to deal with it.
Max rejected the Mavericks' request without hesitation, issuing a stern order: "No unit is to fire! I repeat, no unit is to fire!"
He and the entire carrier strike group cannot bear the responsibility of starting a war.
Li Lu was gambling that the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group wouldn't dare to fire, and that once they did, the two sides would completely break off relations and war would be inevitable!